


like playing piano for a cow

by honne



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, Implied Relationships, Mentioned Taehyung
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-19
Packaged: 2018-06-09 11:42:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6904528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honne/pseuds/honne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark is giggling at his phone and seriously what the fuck?</p>
            </blockquote>





	like playing piano for a cow

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as one thing, but switched POVs and turned into something completely different.  
> Fuelled by matcha and [友人と by Y E Λ R S ・・・](https://yers.bandcamp.com/album/-).

 

Jinyoung is doodling in the margin of his notebook instead of studying, because honestly he already knows all the stuff and he only said he'd meet up with Mark to study because he wants to stop by Starbucks on the way home, when he he hears a funny sound and glances up.

Mark is sitting across from him at the table in the library, giggling. Jinyoung shrugs, eyes flicking back down to the neat rows of pencilled-in words, overshadowed by the wild red and blue pen curlicues growing ever larger in the white space between the lines and the edge of the page, before he does a double take and his eyes shoot back up to Mark's expression. The lines of his face are smooth now, expression not exactly blank—Mark isn't a blank person, no matter what some people might say—but merely calm. Jinyoung narrows his eyes, mentally ticking people off on his metaphorical fingers. Jackson is still sleeping, or at the gym, but definitely not messaging Mark. Jaebum isn't the type to make Mark giggle over a message, and anyway he's stewing in philosophy cramming up to his eyeballs, even though everyone apart from him knows he'll be fine and he's just stressing about nothing. Stressed Jaebum wears glasses, and Jinyoung isn't about to let that go to waste.

Mark sets his phone down, and Jinyoung considers just reaching for it across the table. Mark might get annoyed, but he doesn't know that Jinyoung knows his passcode, and he'll only think Jinyoung is reminding him to work on his paper. He's about to lay down his pen and go for it when it vibrates, and Mark picks it up instead. The moment is lost and Jinyoung silently curses whoever's on the other side for thwarting his plans. Mark doesn't giggle, but he rolls his eyes before typing something in and then setting the phone back down again, this time on the side of his papers where Jinyoung can't reach without being totally obvious. Jinyoung silently seethes, and the curlicue he's doodling starts to resemble something more along the lines of a swirling vortex. It can't be Youngjae, because Youngjae has class, and it's not the kind of class where you can just sit in the back and goof off on your phone either, not that Jinyoung ever does that, except for linear algebra because. . .linear algebra.

Jinyoung glares at Mark's phone and thinks really hard about the coffee he's going get after this. It helps, a bit, but it doesn't stop him from doing the mental roll-call. It's definitely not Yugyeom, because Yugyeom doesn't message things that make people laugh, or at least Jinyoung isn't laughing when he sees the latest street fashion from Paris or Sweden or wherever the heck Yugyeom is now. Just in case though, he lobs Mark an idle question.

"Hey Mark," he says, and turns a page in his notebook for fresh scribbling space because the last margin is all used up. "Have you heard from Yugyeom lately?"

Mark hums, fingers tapping on the keys a few moments more, probably finishing a thought. "No?" he says, turning the statement into a question. "Isn't he in Helsinki?" Mark leans back, stretching his arms out, rolling his head back before pushing his chair back and standing up.

"Need a break," he says, "want something?" He pauses, hand on the back of the chair, waiting for Jinyoung's answer, but Jinyoung, distracted by the fact that he might get a chance to figure out who's messaging Mark, shakes his head and pretends to be interested in his notes. He sees Mark shrug out of the corner of his eye, tracking his step along the table, ready to pounce as soon as Mark's red t-shirt has rounded the shelves—

only to see Mark double back, grabbing his phone from the table before he leaves. And that's when Jinyoung realizes that, not only has he lost his chance to uncover the perpetrator, he's also lost his chance for free coffee.

Jinyoung pulls out his phone and messages BamBam.

me where are you?  
me are you messaging mark?  
me are you sleeping?  
me its like evening by now  
me why are you sleeping?  
me does mark have any friends?  
me where are you?  
me wake up

There's no reply, and Jinyoung is just about to phone him, silently fuming, when a message finally pops up

meat thief its ten  
meat thief its ten am  
meat thief its ten am and i dont have class  
meat thief why would i message mark im sleeping  
meat thief i WAS sleeping  
meat thief i hate you and im telling mark you dont think he has any friends  
meat thief im going back to sleep if you call im blocking

Jinyoung presses the call button anyway but it just goes to voice mail, or what would be voice mail except that BamBam never deletes his inbox so all he gets is an error message telling him to try calling back later. Jinyoung pressed the end call button instead, and gives up pretending to study.

"Jackson," he says, when Jackson finally answers the phone after the ten millionth ring. Jackson yawns.

"S'up?" he asks, his breathing a little loud, and Jinyoung nods to himself. _Gym._

"Did you message Mark a bit ago?" he asks, just to cover all his bases though he's pretty sure the answer is no.

"No?" Jackson confirms, voice lilting a bit. It sounds like he's rubbing his face with a towel. "Not unless I pocket-dialed him, or whatever that is with messaging." While it's a possibility, Jinyoung's pretty sure it wouldn't have Mark actually giggling. "Why do you want to know, anyway?" Jinyoung frowns. Jackson is a lot smarter than his gym-lifestyle would dictate from first appearances, and while he approves, sometimes it can be problematic.

"Does Mark have any new friends?" he asks instead, hoping to deflect the question with another of his own. There's a pause on the other end of the line, the sound of water. Jackson is probably gulping down water from his sports bottle and any moment now—

"Yeah, probably?" Jackson shrugs; Jinyoung can't see him but he knows how it sounds when he does it. "He goes to class and talks to people and stuff."

"Yeah but those are like. . .casual acquaintances," Jinyoung says. "I meant, does he have any new close friends?" Only after the words have left his mouth does he realize how oddly. . .intense he sounds. Oops.

"Hmm," Jackson hums, probably stuffing things in his gym bag or something, "if you're so interested in this, why don't you just ask him?" Mission abort. Jackson definitely knows something is up.

"I—," Jinyoung tries to make a tactical retreat, but Jackson is too fast.

"Where are you anyway?" he asks, turning the tables. "Hey, aren't you studying with Mark at the library this morning?"

"Sorry the librarian is coming, gotta go!" he says, quickly hanging up before Jackson can protest that the librarian doesn't care if you eat pizza under the no eating sign, never mind talking on the phone.

His phone vibrates, but Jinyoung ignores it. Hopefully, by the time they meet up this evening, Jackson will have already forgotten all about it.

Mark rounds the corner then, familiar paper cup in hand, and Jinyoung curses himself out silently again for missing a chance at free coffee. Then he notices that Mark is smiling, one hand tucking his phone back in his pocket, and he just blurts it out without thinking.

"Who are you messaging?" he asks.

Mark looks up, bemused. "Taehyung," he says, and Jinyoung can feel his eyebrows fly right up, probably hiding somewhere beneath his hair.

"Taehyung?" he repeats, his mind whirring. Taehyung is like. . .Taehyung.

"You know," Mark says, waving a hand as he sits back down in the chair across the table from Jinyoung, and sets the paper cup next to his laptop, along with his phone. "From school."

Of course Jinyoung knows who Taehyung is. He's pretty sure that everybody in the whole university knows who Taehyung is. It's just—Taehyung and. . .Mark? It feels like a cognition error.

"But what do you even have to talk about?" Jinyoung asks, too puzzled and curious to bother pretending to be uninterested. "He's in, like, robotics."

"He messed up my drink order," Mark explains, as though this is a perfectly logical way to meet someone and make friends. Jinyoung frowns slightly.

"And?" he prompts.

"And yeah." Mark shrugs. "He sends me things." And then he smiles, a kind of soft, slightly embarrassed smile and Jinyoung has officially had enough of beating around the bush.

Mark is smiling. Fondly. At someone Jinyoung, five seconds ago, wasn't even aware that Mark was acquainted with. He reaches over the table, grabs Mark's phone, and has it open and unlocked before Mark even has time to protest.

Only to see why would anyone play piano for a cow? as the latest received message. He just stares at it for a breath, before Mark grabs the phone back out of his limp fingers.

"What the hell," Mark says, and from the way he's tapping at the screen, Jinyoung is pretty sure he's changing his passcode as he speaks. "What was that?" There's a strange pink flush hovering above his cheekbones and Jinyoung can't tell if Mark is angry or embarrassed or—he doesn't even know. Jinyoung is used to knowing. It's disconcerting.

"You like him," Jinyoung says, and it sounds more accusatory than he had intended but honestly? Whatever.

Mark just looks at him. "And?" he says, not really a question. And then he rolls his eyes and his expression softens slightly. "He's funny." He slips the phone into his pocket and turns back to his paper, fingers tapping once again on the keyboard.

Jinyoung purses his lips and turns back to his curlicues. He's going to need to follow up on this, but it's time for planning and reconnaissance. Maybe he'll skip this evening and go hang out with Yoongi in the labs.

The sound of tapping pauses for a moment, and Mark peers around the screen. "You're not planning anything," he says, the question implied.

"No," Jinyoung lies, and flips a page in his notebook.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired in part by this [moment](http://bwibelle.tumblr.com/post/143896807750).  
> Thank you to H for the music!


End file.
